Volvo V90 Cross Country Review

Volvo has been churning out new models lately. The XC90 was launched last year and forms the top of the line SUV for Volvo. The S90 came this year and this time, the Volvo V90 Cross Country is the latest from the Swedish manufacturer. This crossover has been launched at INR 66 Lakhs (on-road). Now, it takes a while to figure out what exactly the V90 Cross Country is. Essentially an estate / station wagon, which now has underpinnings of an SUV, hence it is a crossover of a sedan and an SUV, offering together best of both worlds.
We drive the V90 Cross Country around the hills of Coorg and bring you all the details of this unique vehicle.

Volvo V90 Cross Country Price

The V90 Cross Country is priced at INR 66Lakhs (on-road). At this price you get an extremely feature loaded car that is very capable on any terrain and offers great comfort and safety as well. It is a good option to consider if you are looking for a versatile vehicle with a good blend of a sedan and an SUV.

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Volvo V90 Cross Country Specifications

Volvo V90 Cross Country Design

The first look of this car immediately spells out of it being an estate. However, it is quick to reveal its SUV architecture. More than half of the car from the front is identical to the S90 and the rear portion has underlines of the XC90. The regular V90 has not been launched in India, instead the cross country version of it comes here and that is for a definite purpose.

It gets all round cladding and also a raised height and with 20-inch wheels. This makes it a car coming close to an SUV. The front is identical to the S90, with the now signature Thor’s hammer headlamps and the rectangular Volvo grille. It looks pretty long from the side and the rear gets those vertical tail lamps which identify it as a Volvo even from a distance. The looks are pretty subtle and not flashy as such. However, due to the raised stance it offers good road presence.

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Volvo V90 Cross Country Interiors

The interiors are identical to the Volvo S90.  They look very premium and the black and tan interior theme that we had on this car was excellent. The three spoke steering wheel, the vertical touch screen and the dashboard are reminiscent of the S90. It also gets TFT screen as the instrument cluster.

The V90 Cross Country has excellent seats, well bolstered with extendable thigh support.  To top it, it gets massage function in the seats for both driver and co-passenger. The massage has a variety of functions as per your preference what a boon this is on those long drives! Our long drive from Mangalore to Coorg made this feature even more appreciated.

The V90 gets the diamond finish, twist start button, same as the XC90 and the S90. The audio system is from B&W and is an amazing one.

The rear is also very comfortable and gets air conditioning that has controls in the form of a touch screen. The bottom portion of the seat folds up to become a child seat. There are a lot of storage spaces in the arm rest and door pockets. The boot is a never ending one offering oodles of space. It can stretch out to 1526 litres of capacity and can easily fill up with your long vacation luggage. It gets powered tailgate to make things easier.

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Volvo V90 Cross Country Engine

The V90 cross country as a 2.0-litre D5 diesel engine. Now, this is not lightning quick but has enough fire power with  232bhp at 4000rpm and a torque of 480Nm at 1750-2250rpm. The car gets an eight-speed automatic transmission and All Wheel Drive. The claimed top speed is around 240 km/hr and 0-100 takes around 7.2 seconds as claimed.

This car doesn’t give you a feel of lack of power but we would have preferred if the response would have been a bit quicker. Maybe a dual clutch transmission would have solved that. However, in your daily driving this has more than sufficient power to make your drives pleasurable.

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Volvo V90 Cross Country Ride and Handling

Now considering the fact that this is an estate with proportions of an SUV and a raised stance, add to that 20-inch alloy wheels, one would expect it to be stiff on the move.However, the story is completely different despite a high ground clearance of 210 mm which is mind blowing, this car drive like a dream. The suspension is very well sorted and gives you a very pleasant ride as well. We took it through some real bad patches gravelly road and broken portions and even at speeds of 90-100 km/hr on bad patches, this car behaved immaculately. There’s no other word than impressive and full marks to the suspension setup of this car!

Now this doesn’t handle like some of the best SUV is in the market but nevertheless is very capable. Steering response is confidence inspiring and the car doesn’t behave as heavy as it seems. The winding roads to Coorg gave us ample opportunity to test the handling characteristics and it left us with no room to complain.

Volvo V90 Cross Country Features

The Volvo V90 Cross Country has an almost never ending list of features. It is available only in the top-of the line Inscription variant in India, so it is loaded with features. Some highlighted features are:

• Bowers and Wilkins surround audio system
• Navigation with road sign assist
• Tyre Pressure monitoring system
• Four zone Climate control
• Panoramic Sunroof
• Napa Leather Upholstery
• Massage function in front seats
• LED headlamps with bending function
• Adaptive cruise control
• Pilot Assist
• Park Assist Pilot
• Collision Mitigation Support
• Hill descent control

We experienced some cool features in the Volvo V90 Cross Country like the adaptive Cruise Control, that adjusts its speed according to the vehicle in front. It accelerates and brakes to maintain the distance set by you. It also has Pilot Assist which steers the car as well, however this feature works well only on roads with good markings. The Collision Mitigation Control makes sure than you dont crash into the vehicle in front of you and it brakes as soon as it senses that the brakes are not sufficiently applied manually. The Park Assist Pilot makes parallel or perpendicular parking a breeze. Just sit back and let the car take over your parking business.

Volvo V90 Cross Country – Should you buy it?

Well, the Volvo V90 Cross Country is a unique product, to say the least. It is suitable for those who live an active adventurous lifestyle. It is a great family vehicle which can take loads of luggage, sports equipment and your camping stuff too. So if you are one of those who self-drives to work and waits for weekends to get out of the chaotic cities, into the wilderness, where traveling throws some challenges, then the Volvo V90 should be a perfect companion for you.

Volvo V90 Cross Country Image Gallery